AN ACT DESIGNATING THE MONTH OF november AS MARROW DONATION AWARENESS MONTH; AND directing the department of health and human services and the department of motor vehicles to raise awareness through public service announcements about bone marrow donation and bone marrow donation registries.

Whereas, there are thousands of persons across the United States with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as sickle cell disease and other diseases, who could benefit from receiving a lifesaving bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplant; and

Whereas, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) operates the Be the Match Registry, and the first step to becoming a donor is to join this registry; and

Whereas, all that is required to register with the NMDP is to complete the online form, order a registration kit, follow the instructions in the kit to collect a swab of cheek cells, and return the kit to the NMDP in order to determine any potential patient matches; and

Whereas, a potential donor who matches a patient is asked to make either a bone marrow or PBSC donation; and

Whereas, bone marrow donation is a surgical outpatient hospital procedure in which the donor receives anesthesia and feels no pain, and the donated liquid marrow replaces itself completely within four to six weeks; and

Whereas, PBSC donation is a nonsurgical procedure that takes place at a blood center or outpatient hospital unit and involves a transplant of cells from circulating blood, with the donor receiving injections of a drug called Filgrastim over a five‑day period leading up to donation in order to increase the number of blood‑forming cells in the bloodstream, and then having blood removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood‑forming cells, with the remaining blood returned to the donor through the other arm; and

Whereas, the donor's blood‑forming cells return to normal levels within four to six weeks; and

Whereas, all medical costs for the donation procedure are covered by the NMDP or the donor's health insurance, as are travel expenses and other nonmedical costs, leaving only the potential cost to the donor being time taken off from work; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the Knight‑LeCount Advocacy for Marrow Education and Registration Act or KLAMER Act.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 103 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 103‑12.5.  Marrow Donation Awareness Month.

The month of November of each year is designated as Marrow Donation Awareness Month in North Carolina.

SECTION 3.(a)  In order to raise public awareness about bone marrow donation and transplantation and encourage North Carolina residents to consider joining a bone marrow donation registry, the Department of Health and Human Services shall make available on its internet website a public service announcement containing medically accurate information regarding bone marrow donation and transplantation that is sufficient to allow an individual to make an informed decision about whether to participate in a local or national bone marrow donation registry.

SECTION 3.(b)  The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide to the Department of Motor Vehicles an internet link to the public service announcement authorized by subsection (a) of this section, which the Department of Motor Vehicles shall make available on its internet website. In addition, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall broadcast the public service announcement authorized by subsection (a) of this section on monitors at drivers license office locations across the State.

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.